U.S. patent application number 12/004741 was filed with the patent office on 2009-06-25 for system and method for management and control of containerized freight.
This patent application is currently assigned to Tideworks Technology, Inc.. Invention is credited to Robert Michael Ahern, Sharon A. Alper, Gregory J. Cook, Sean Richard Pierce, Hans Henrik Rikhof, Donald H. Taylor.
Application Number | 20090164345 12/004741 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40789752 |
Filed Date | 2009-06-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090164345 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pierce; Sean Richard ; et
al. |
June 25, 2009 |
System and method for management and control of containerized
freight
Abstract
A system and method for managing containerized freight is
disclosed. The system generates a 3-D view of a containerized
freight terminal that is rendered on a display. The 3-D view
includes rendered scale models of all the containers, vessels,
buildings and equipment within the freight yard and according to
stored information relating to such. The rendered 3-D view is
updated as changes are made to the stored information and according
to user input related to the desired point of view and perspective.
The rendered scale models may be selectively visually coded or
displayed according to pre-determined criteria.
Inventors: |
Pierce; Sean Richard;
(Seattle, WA) ; Alper; Sharon A.; (Seattle,
WA) ; Ahern; Robert Michael; (El Paicala, PA)
; Cook; Gregory J.; (Bainbridge Island, WA) ;
Rikhof; Hans Henrik; (Seattle, WA) ; Taylor; Donald
H.; (Seattle, WA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DORSEY & WHITNEY LLP;INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DEPARTMENT
SUITE 3400, 1420 FIFTH AVENUE
SEATTLE
WA
98101
US
|
Assignee: |
Tideworks Technology, Inc.
Seattle
WA
|
Family ID: |
40789752 |
Appl. No.: |
12/004741 |
Filed: |
December 21, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/29 ;
700/29 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/0875 20130101;
G06Q 10/087 20130101; G05B 15/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/29 ;
700/29 |
International
Class: |
G06F 19/00 20060101
G06F019/00; G05B 13/04 20060101 G05B013/04 |
Claims
1. A computer implemented method for managing freight, the method
comprising: creating a terminal database containing information
related to objects in a freight terminal; displaying a 3-D
rendering of the freight terminal that reflects the spatial
relationships between the objects in the freight terminal based on
the information in the terminal database and wherein the objects
displayed in the rendering of the freight terminal are interactive;
and updating and re-displaying the 3-D rendering of the freight
terminal.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising creating a report based
on information in the terminal database.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the report is related to at least
one of the following: the location of one or more containers based
on search criteria, the location of one or more pieces of equipment
in the freight terminal, and an estimate of the time remaining to
complete a task or set of tasks.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein search criteria comprises
information related to at least one of: the inclusion of the one or
more containers in a queue of containers to be moved, the physical
proximity of the one or more containers to a predetermined
location, the destination location of the one or more containers, a
vessel ID, and a train ID.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein a queue of containers to be moved
comprises a queue of containers to be moved that are grouped
according to at least one of: handling equipment assigned to move
the containers, the destination location of the containers to be
moved and the source location of the containers to be moved.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the destination location of the
containers to be moved comprises at least one of: a yard location,
a vessel, a train and a truck.
7. The method of claim 5 wherein the source location of the
containers to be moved comprises at least one of: a yard location,
a vessel, a train and a truck.
8. The method of claim 5 wherein objects in the freight terminal
include at least one of: one or more containers, one or more stacks
of containers, one or more vessels, one or more trains, one or more
trucks, and handling equipment for moving containers.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein handling equipment comprises at
least one of: ship-to-shore cranes, quay cranes, straddle carriers,
rail-mounted gantry cranes, rubber-tired gantry cranes, side-picks,
top-picks, forklifts, hustlers and chassis.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein updating and re-displaying the
3-D rendering of the freight terminal comprises updating and
re-displaying the 3-D rendering of the freight terminal according
to updates to the terminal database.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein updates to the terminal database
comprise at least one of updates that include location information
and status information about objects in the freight terminal.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein the location information is
comprised of information derived from at least one of: a global
positioning system (GPS), RTLS, an inertial navigation system, and
the last completed move.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein updating and re-displaying the
3-D rendering of the freight terminal comprises updating and
re-displaying the 3-D rendering of the freight terminal according
to input from a user.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein input from the user comprises at
least one of: input related to the point of view of the rendering,
input related to the zoom level, input related to an object
selected from within the rendering, input related to toggling the
display of a pre-determined group of objects in the freight
terminal, and input designed to filter and/or highlight objects
according to user-defined criteria.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein the pre-determined group of
objects in the freight terminal comprise at least one of: all
containers without scheduled moves, all containers in a particular
row in the yard, all active containers, all inactive containers,
light posts, buildings, walkways and other fixed objects of the
freight terminal.
16. A containerized freight management system comprising: a model
database; a terminal information database; data input components; a
display; and a processing component coupled to the model database,
the terminal information database, the data input components and
the display, the processing component configured to: render a 3-D
view on the display of a freight terminal and objects within the
freight terminal based on 3-D model information contained in the
model database and that reflects the location of the objects based
on information in the terminal information database; accept input
from the data input components; and update and re-render the 3-D
view on the display in response to the input and to changes in the
terminal information database.
17. The system of claim 16 wherein objects within the freight
terminal comprise at least one of: freight yards, containers,
stacks of containers, rows of containers, berths, vessels, trains,
shipping trucks, container handling equipment, buildings, light
poles, and other fixed objects of the freight terminal.
18. The system of claim 17 wherein changes in the terminal
information database comprise changes that include at least one of
status and location information about the objects within the
freight terminal.
19. The system of claim 18 wherein the location information is
comprised of information derived from at least one of: a global
positioning system (GPS), RTLS, an inertial navigation system, and
the last completed move.
20. The system of claim 17 wherein trains comprise one or more rail
cars equipped to receive and transport containers.
21. The system of claim 17 wherein container handling equipment
comprises at least one of: ship-to-shore cranes, quay cranes,
straddle carriers, rail-mounted gantry cranes, rubber-tired gantry
cranes, side-picks, top-picks, forklifts, hustlers and chassis.
22. The system of claim 16 wherein the processing component is
further configured to permit creating a report based on information
in the terminal information database.
23. The system of claim 22 wherein the report is related to at
least one of the following: the location of one or more containers
based on search criteria, the location of one or more pieces of
equipment in the freight terminal, and an estimate of the time
remaining to complete a task or set of tasks.
24. The system of claim 23 wherein search criteria comprises
information related to at least one of: the inclusion of the one or
more containers in a queue of containers to be moved, the physical
proximity of the one or more containers to a predetermined
location, and the destination location of the one or more
containers.
25. The system of claim 24 wherein a queue of containers to be
moved comprises a queue of containers to be moved that are grouped
according to at least one of: moving equipment assigned to move the
containers, the destination location of the containers to be moved,
the source location of the containers to be moved, and the type of
container movements to be performed.
26. The system of claim 25 wherein the type of container movements
to be performed comprises of at least one of: a yard-to-yard
container move, a yard-to-vessel container move, a vessel-to-yard
container move, a yard-to-train container move, a train-to-yard
container move, a truck-to-yard container move, and a yard-to-truck
container move.
27. The system of claim 25 wherein the destination location of the
containers to be moved comprises at least one of: a freight yard, a
vessel, a train and a truck.
28. The system of claim 25 wherein the source location of the
containers to be moved comprises at least one of: a freight yard, a
vessel, a train and a truck.
29. The method of claim 16 wherein input comprises at least one of:
input related to the point of view of the rendering, input related
to the zoom level, input related to an object selected from within
the rendering, input related to toggling the display of a
pre-determined group of objects in the freight terminal, and input
designed to filter and/or highlight objects according to
user-defined criteria.
30. The method of claim 29 wherein the pre-determined group of
objects in the freight terminal comprise at least one of: all
containers without scheduled moves, all containers in a particular
row in the yard, all active containers, all inactive containers,
light posts, buildings and walkways.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] Embodiments of this invention relate to systems and methods
for managing and controlling containerized freight, and, more
particularly to an integrated vessel, rail, yard and equipment
information and control system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Containerization of freight for intermodal transport has
revolutionized the shipping industry. Containerization is a system
of freight transport that uses standard ISO containers that may be
filled with freight, sealed, and then loaded on and off of various
transport vehicles such as container ships, railroad cars, planes
and trucks. Since worldwide adoption of the ISO standards for
shipping containers, the containerized freight industry has grown
tremendously. Today, it is estimated that approximately 90% of the
world's non-bulk cargo is moved in shipping containers.
[0003] Containerized cargo typically moves through a shipping
terminal or intermodal transport facility. Such facilities are
responsible for receiving containers from one or more vessels or
vehicles and then transferring the containers onto one or more
other vehicles for further transport. Such a shipping terminal may,
for example, be equipped to unload containers from a seagoing
container ship and load the containers onto a freight train for
further transport to an inland location. Alternatively, the
containers may be loaded onto trucks or even other seagoing
vessels. Likewise, containers may be shipped to the terminal via
ground transportation and then loaded onto a vessel for transport
overseas.
[0004] As the use of containers has become prevalent, shipping
terminal operators have felt an increased need for, and reliance
on, logistics tools for tracking and managing the containers as
they pass through the terminal. A typical shipping terminal may be
responsible for tracking and managing many thousands of containers
on numerous vessels, trains and vehicles. Terminal managers,
container yard planners and operations personnel must constantly
work to plan, execute, monitor and revise numerous tasks in order
to move vessels and vehicles through as quickly as possible.
Conventional logistics tools are generally built on one or more
databases that may contain information about all the containers,
equipment, vessels, vehicles, moves, work queues and the like. Such
tools allow terminal personnel to track and manage these items
through a textual view of the underlying database objects that
represent each of these entities. In some cases, and especially
with smaller terminals, such tools are adequate.
[0005] FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional logistics tool with a
textual view 100. The textual view 100 of container information
includes an equipment list 110 and an equipment move list 120. The
equipment list 110 shows a list of the various pieces of equipment
that may be in the terminal and the equipment move table 120 shows
the moves assigned to a piece of equipment selected in the
equipment list 110. In FIG. 1, a piece of container handling
equipment, side pick 155, is denoted by the label SP11 and is shown
selected in the equipment list 110. As a result of the side pick
155 being selected in the equipment list 110, the move list 120
shows a list of moves 130, 140 and 150 assigned to the side pick
155. For example, the move list 120 shows that the move 130 is
related to container number GESU4838260, which is located at the
yard coordinates D503 D3. Other information about the assigned
moves such as the destination of the move may also be displayed. By
navigating through lists of this variety, operations personnel may
infer information about the state of the yard, status of equipment
and the containers, and the movement of containers within the yard.
Although operations personnel can see these assigned moves in the
move list 120, there is no way of knowing from the information
provided by the equipment list 110 or the move list 120 where the
side pick 155 is physically located in relation to the moves
130-150, or where the moves 130-150 are located in relation to each
other.
[0006] Conventional list-based logistics tools, such as that
previously described with reference to FIG. 1, fail to provide
several desirable features because information about, for example,
the relative positions of equipment and containers is not provided.
A shipping terminal is a very physical business that operates in
three dimensions. A problem with conventional tools is they do not
display adequate spatial information about the containers,
equipment, vessels and the like. The list-based tool does not
provide context for yard features, including light poles, reefer
walkways, buildings, or other features that would block access to
or impede movement of equipment or containers through a particular
area of the yard. Additionally, containers being stored in the yard
of the terminal are generally stacked. The spatial location of a
given container cannot, therefore, be adequately viewed by
conventional tools since these tools will typically display only a
textual list of the containers in any given stack. The stack
location, however, cannot be discerned visually. Likewise, although
the physical location of equipment may in some instances be
available in the form of GPS coordinates or the like, the physical
location of that equipment relative to other pieces of equipment,
containers and vessels cannot be easily discerned. Terminals using
such conventional logistics tools are forced to use other means for
gaining the proper physical context and state of the yard and its
contents. This is typically done through the use of numerous yard
supervision personnel, constant radio contact between equipment
operators and supervision, and/or visual inspections of the yard.
This process is an inefficient use of terminal resources because
many people are required for proper traffic control. Likewise,
conventional tools are not necessarily integrated with one another
and may feature little or no interoperability.
[0007] There is therefore a need for a terminal management system
that provides three-dimensional (3-D) context for terminal objects
and provides management and control of container, equipment,
vessel, and vehicle traffic into and out of the terminal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional containerized freight
logistics tool.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a system for
managing containerized freight according to an embodiment of the
invention.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a 3-D rendering of a freight terminal according to
one embodiment of the invention.
[0011] FIG. 4 is a zoomed view of the freight terminal of FIG.
3.
[0012] FIG. 5 is a color-by view of a freight terminal yard
according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0013] FIG. 6 is a zoomed color-by view according to one embodiment
of the invention.
[0014] FIG. 7 is an alternative color-by view of the containers
illustrated in FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0015] Certain details are set forth below to provide a sufficient
understanding of embodiments of the invention. However, it will be
clear to one skilled in the art that embodiments of the invention
may be practiced without these particular details. Moreover, the
particular embodiments of the present invention described herein
are provided by way of example and should not be used to limit the
scope of the invention to these particular embodiments. In other
instances, well-known circuits, control signals, timing protocols,
and software operations have not been shown in detail in order to
avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention.
[0016] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a system 200 according
to an embodiment of the invention for providing a 3-D view of a
freight terminal and for managing containers and equipment therein.
The system 200 includes a processing component 230. The processing
component may comprise any of a variety of different processors or
computers suitably programmed to permit management of containerized
freight and further programmed to render a 3-D view of a freight
terminal and the interrelatedness of the various terminal objects,
such as containers, equipment, and structures.
[0017] The processing component 230 may be connected to a model
database 210 and a terminal information database 240. The model
database 210 may contain models and other information necessary to
render a 3-D view of a freight terminal. Such models and
information are used by the processing component 230 to render and
display the 3-D view on the display 230. The terminal information
database 240 may contain information related to containers present
in a freight terminal yard, or containers present on vessels,
trains or trucks located at the freight terminal 200. For example,
information about the destination vessel of a particular container
or the equipment assigned to move that container may be stored in
the terminal information database 240 for a particularized
rendering of the containers within the 3-D view, as is discussed
more fully below.
[0018] The system 200 also includes data input components 250. Data
input via the components 250 may be used by the processing
components to update either the model database 210, the terminal
information database 240, or both. The data input components 250
may comprise equipment location sensors 260, container location
sensors 270 or manual input devices 280 such as a keyboard and
mouse. The processing component 230 may use location information
provided by the equipment location sensors 260 to render and
display a 3-D rendering of such equipment on the display 230
wherein the rendering places the equipment in its physically
correct position within the virtual 3-D view of the freight
terminal. The processing component 230 may do likewise with respect
to containers in a freight terminal using position information
provided by the container location sensors 270.
[0019] In addition to rendering the 3-D view of a freight terminal,
the system 200 may provide information about each container,
vessel, berth or any other terminal objects rendered in the 3-D
view. For example, a significant amount of information about each
vessel may be made available by, as is discussed below, some
suitable means of querying the vessel information. This information
might include, for example, the vessel's estimated time of
departure, the percent of the containers to be loaded or unloaded
that is complete, the total number of containers to be loaded or
unloaded, the total number of containers that must be re-handled
during loading or unloading, the date or time that the first or
last container is loaded or unloaded, the estimated time of
completion, any required time of completion, or the total number of
moves. This information may be accessed in a number of ways. In one
embodiment, double-clicking the vessel with a pointer such as a
mouse pointer could cause a dialog to be displayed containing some
or all of the available vessel information. Alternatively, simply
hovering such a pointer over the vessel for a pre-determined period
of time could likewise cause some or all of the available vessel
information to be displayed.
[0020] The system 200 further provides information about the
relationship of terminal objects rendered in the 3-D view through
the use of visual coding, such as color coding, or displaying only
the terminal objects having a particular relationship. The visual
coding or selective display of terminal objects can be used to
correlate projected moves, spatial data, vessel production
statistics, move state and equipment assignment details to
communicate to users how terminal resources relate to work
requirements and the physical characteristics of the terminal. For
example, users can color code containers by vessel assignment, yard
assignment, equipment assignment, or queue assignment. As a result,
the user can easily identify which lifting equipment has a
container on a work list, or the yard queue to which the container
belongs. Users can color the yard by equipment or queues. The
ability to color the yard allows planners to see the yard coverage
resulting from equipment or queue assignments and adjust
accordingly. The spatial context provided by the system 200 can
enable planners to more appropriately plan and assign moves that
make sense in the context of the yard.
[0021] FIG. 3 illustrates a 3-D rendering generated by the system
200 of a freight terminal 300 according to one embodiment of the
invention. The freight terminal 300 is rendered and displayed based
on scale 3-D models of containers, vessels, structures, equipment
and other terminal objects in the freight terminal 300 view. The
3-D models of the terminal objects may be created with any of a
number of common 3-D modeling software tools as will be understood
by one of ordinary skill. The model for the freight terminal 300 is
typically coded from the actual terminal blueprints to ensure
everything renders to scale. Once the models are created, the
models and other information related to their rendering, such as,
for example, their physical dimensions, a set of vertices that
delineate their boundaries, location within the scene or texture
maps, may be stored in any number of different locations. These
models could be stored, for example, as flat files on a disk or in
a database of some type. In the embodiment of the system 200 shown
in FIG. 2, the models and other information related to rendering
the freight terminal 300 are stored in the model database 210. As
was discussed above, a database is typically created and used to
store terminal information about, for example, all the containers
in the yard. In one embodiment, each database used to store the
rendering information and the terminal information about the
containers, or other terminal objects of the freight terminal, may
be different databases. Alternatively, the rendering and terminal
information may be stored in the same database.
[0022] As was discussed above, a set of vertices within a model may
be used to delineate the physical boundaries of any particular
terminal object. The same may be true of the freight terminal 300.
The set of vertices that delineate the freight terminal 300 may
also delineate other sub-regions within the freight terminal 300.
In particular, the example freight terminal 300 as shown in FIG. 3
may contain a sub-region called the yard 310. The freight terminal
300 is illustrated with only a single yard but may contain more
than one yard. The yard 310 is typically used for temporary storage
of freight containers 320. The freight terminal 300 also may
include one or more berths 330a and 330b. In some cases, such
berths may be empty (i.e. contain no vessel) as illustrated by
berth 330b. A berth may also be displayed with a vessel 340 docked
in the berth as illustrated by berth 330a. A berth may also be
displayed with more than one vessel floating parallel to the berth
to indicate vessels that have not yet arrived, but that are
scheduled to arrive at a later time, such as within a week.
[0023] The yard 310 contains a number of different terminal
objects, each of which may be displayed in the 3-D rendering of the
freight terminal 300. In particular, the yard typically includes
containers in various states, structures and terminal blocks. The
different terminal objects may be displayed by the system in a
number of different ways. The system can simply display all the
containers in the yard or, alternatively, and as will be discussed
in more detail below, the system 200 can display terminal objects
with visual coding, such as color coding, or display only
particular terminal objects to represent different relationships
between the terminal objects. For example, the 3-D rendering of the
terminal 200 may included those containers that are planned for a
move. Likewise, the system 200 may display all activated
containers. That is, containers that have been dispatched, are in
transit, or are otherwise active within the yard. In addition to
containers, the yard may contain a number of different structures.
For example, reefer stations, antennas, buildings, fire hydrants
and other structures may be displayed. For example, the freight
terminal 300 contains light poles 360 and buildings 365. A yard may
also contain a number of types of storage and staging areas, each
of which will be displayed by the system. Storage and staging areas
might include rubber-tired gantry (RTG) crane blocks, rail-mounted
gantry cranes (RMG's), container heaps, chassis storage areas,
railtracks, straddle carrier and top lift container stacks, and
other types of storage areas.
[0024] As is known, a berth is a specific area within the freight
terminal where a vessel may be moored. Each berth will typically be
labeled alpha-numerically and any vessel present in the berth will
be displayed in its actual physical position within the berth. That
is, the vessel house will face the correct direction and any vessel
ID that is present on the vessel will likewise be displayed. The
3-D rendering of the freight terminal 300 includes examples of such
vessels 340 and 350. Above each vessel is a vessel label 340a and
350a that denotes the name of each vessel. In addition to yard and
berth objects, the 3-D rendering of the freight terminal 300 may
also include terminal equipment objects. Operations personnel and
dispatchers must know where equipment is physically located in
order to more efficiently assign container moves and respond to
changes in the operation of the freight terminal 300 due to, for
example, equipment breakdown. Virtually any type of equipment may
be rendered and tracked within the system including: RTGs, RMGs,
straddle carriers, hustlers, top picks, side picks, or ship to
shore cranes. The freight terminal 300 illustrates several examples
of such equipment. The freight terminal 300 may include, for
example, a top pick 355, an RTG 345 or a side pick 371.
[0025] In an embodiment, all yard, berth and equipment terminal
objects may be rendered to scale within the 3-D freight terminal
view. Likewise, the physical location of such terminal objects may
be determined by, for example, a GPS or other locating system, and
wirelessly relayed to the system. This location information is then
used by the system 200 to display the terminal objects in the 3-D
view and update their position in real time. In another embodiment,
the location of terminal objects is periodically manually entered
into the system and the 3-D view of the freight terminal can be
updated to reflect the last known position of the terminal objects.
The location of the terminal objects may be specified by entering
the coordinates for the terminal objects. As previously discussed
with reference to the system 200, the processing component 230 may
use location information provided by the equipment location sensors
260 to render and display a 3-D rendering with the equipment in its
physically correct position within the virtual 3-D view of the
freight terminal. The processing component 230 may do likewise with
respect to containers in the freight terminal 300 using position
information provided by the container location sensors 270.
[0026] Numerous types of terminal objects and equipment may be
displayed within the freight terminal 300. These may include, for
example: containers, vessels, top picks, side picks, quay cranes,
rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGs), rubber-tired gantry cranes
(RTGs), hustlers, and straddle carriers. A top pick is a type of
container handling equipment, very similar to a large capacity
forklift, with a specialized spreader bar attachment used for
locking on to containers. A top pick may be used for handling both
laden and empty containers. A side pick is a type of container
handling equipment, very similar to a forklift, with a specialized
attachment used for locking on to containers. A side pick, however,
has less lifting capacity than a top pick and, therefore, may be
used for handling empty containers only. Quay cranes are cranes
located on the wharf or quay next to a berth and designed for
loading and unloading laden and empty containers to and from the
vessel in the berth. A rubber-tired gantry crane (RTG) is a crane
located within the yard and designed to move containers to or from
the container stacks in the yard, or to or from trucks. RTGs
straddle the entirety of the container stacks, which may vary in
height and width. A rail-mounted gantry crane (RMG) is very similar
to the RTG except that instead of being rubber-tired, the gantry
crane is on rails. Hustlers are terminal trucks that may be used to
move containers from location to location within the freight
terminal itself, e.g. either to and from the vessel or to and from
some other location on the terminal. Hustlers are generally
equipped with a catch chassis for receiving and carrying a
container. A straddle carrier is another type of container handling
equipment used for an alternative mode of operation and terminal
layout. In a suitably designed terminal, a straddle carrier may do
both the job of hoisting the container, like an RTG or a top pick,
and the job of transporting the container to another location
within the terminal, like a hustler. In every case, embodiments of
the invention and the example equipment discussed above may be used
in conjunction with geographical location systems to provide
accurate and real-time location and path information about the
equipment and for updating the 3-D rendering of the equipment in
the freight terminal 300. In another embodiment, the processing
component 230 may accept input from the input components 250 to
facilitate rapid processing of certain tasks. For example, an
embodiment may allow the user to "drag-and-drop" a selected block
of containers onto a yard queue associated with a container
handling equipment, such as a top pick, thereby adding such
containers to be moved by that equipment. In this fashion,
containers may be rapidly and visually allocated to associated
equipment for handling.
[0027] The 3-D view of the freight terminal as described above
brings numerous benefits to freight terminal managers and
personnel. The 3-D view allows the terminal manager to quickly and
easily obtain a high-level view of terminal operations. The 3-D
view helps provide an early warning of potential issues involving
equipment assignment and move planning. Real-time or near real-time
3-D views of inactive equipment allow managers to more quickly
react to equipment breakdowns and to more accurately assess
equipment idle time. For example, excess equipment idle time may
permit a terminal manager to monitor productivity and reallocate
resources to improve terminal efficiency. Such a 3-D view also
facilitates remote management of the terminal and its workforce. In
an embodiment, the processing component 230 may accept input from
the input components 250 that cause the 3-D view of the freight
terminal to be re-rendered with a new point of view or with a
different zoom level. The freight terminal can be viewed from
various different perspectives, including the ability to "fly
through" the terminal. As previously discussed, having the freedom
to choose a vantage point of the 3-D view of the freight terminal
allows a terminal manager to quickly assess the status of terminal
operations and further identify locations in the freight terminal
that may need attention. FIGS. 3 and 4 are examples of re-rendering
that reflects differences in both the point of view and the zoom
level. The rendering of the freight terminal shown in FIG. 3 is
from a steeper angle than that of FIG. 4 and thus is looking at a
more top down angle. FIG. 4, on the other hand, is more from a side
perspective. Likewise, the rendering of FIG. 4 is from a closer
vantage point to the freight terminal as can be appreciated by the
larger size of the top-pick 355.
[0028] FIG. 4 illustrates a zoomed view of the freight terminal 300
of FIG. 3. The zoomed view of the freight terminal 300 shows
portions of the yard 310 with greater detail and spatial context.
For example, the RTG 345, the top pick 355 and vessels 340 and 350
are visible in this zoomed view of the freight terminal 300. The
zoomed view, however, more readily provides certain information
because it allows operations personnel to more easily view the
spatial context of that location within the yard. For example, it
can more readily be discerned that the container 405 has a
different status than the other containers in its stack. This is
apparent because the container 405 has a different color than, for
example, the container 410 within the same stack. Operations
personnel using embodiments of the invention can control the
coloration of the containers within the freight terminal 300 view
by applying various color-by criteria as is discussed more fully
below. Also, the scale rendering of objects within the freight
terminal 300 view may permit operations personnel to identify
physical bottlenecks in the yard 310. If, for example, a top pick
was in the process of lifting the container 405, operations
personnel would see the top pick in this zoomed view more readily.
The operations personnel could, therefore, avoid dispatching
another top pick or RTG to move container 410 since the newly
dispatched top pick wouldn't be able to get to the container 410
until the container 405 move had been completed.
[0029] In one embodiment, the system 200 may permit the freight
containers 320 of FIG. 3 to be color-coded to convey various types
of additional information. For example, the containers 320 may be
color coded according to vessel ID, train ID, container or
yard-to-yard move attributes. Vessel ID attributes may be used to
color-code containers according to whether the container is planned
or activated with respect to a particular vessel. For example, the
user may assign a particular color to all the containers that are
to be loaded or unloaded from a particular vessel. Likewise, such
containers that have been activated and are in the process of being
loaded or unloaded may be assigned a color. In one embodiment, the
system can project vessel moves for a given day or time range and
color code the projected container moves. Such container moves may
be of several types. For example, container moves that are from
yard-to-yard, to or from vessels, to or from trains, or to and from
trucks. Such a system may also render a view of what the terminal
would look like in the future based on information in the terminal
information database 240, for example, preplanned move information,
terminal throughput information, equipment and personnel
information, and move rates. Move rates may be based on a
predetermined rate set by operations personnel, pre-computed move
plans, historical move data, or a combination thereof. Historical
data may be based on historical data for one or more pieces of
equipment, a particular equipment operator or a particular vessel.
The "look ahead" feature allows terminal managers to determine the
future status of terminal operations before events take place and
provides an opportunity to modify the deployment of terminal
resources to meet productivity goals.
[0030] The previously discussed color coding options exist with
regard to a particular train ID. Container and yard-to-yard move
attributes may be used to color code containers according to
current and future transactions based on the destination or origin
of a set of containers.
[0031] In an embodiment, the system 200 may permit the yard blocks
within the freight terminal 300 to be colored based on equipment or
queues. For example, blocks may be colored based on their queue
assignment, as shown in FIG. 5. Yard blocks 510-513 are similarly
color coded to indicate the yard blocks are reserved for and
associated with empty containers. Yard block 520, in contrast, is
color coded differently from yard blocks 510-513, and FIG. 5
indicates that it is associated with expected export containers.
When applying the "color-by" view to equipment, a particular color
may be specified for each yard block based on the equipment to
which it is assigned.
[0032] In another embodiment, the system may permit users to toggle
the rendering and display of certain features in accordance with
certain yard management goals. For example, the user may toggle
between a 2-D and 3-D rendering of the freight terminal 300. A set
of Show/Hide toggles may be provided that permit the user to
control whether certain aspects of the freight terminal 300 are
visible in the current 3-D view. For example, the user may
Show/Hide containers without moves (i.e. inventory containers). The
user may also Show/Hide according to row number which toggles the
display of entire rows. Both inactive and active equipment may be
toggled from view with a suitable toggle. Also, fixed yard features
such as light posts, buildings, reefer walkways, and the like, may
be displayed or hidden with a suitable Show/Hide toggle.
[0033] FIG. 6 illustrates an example color-by view of the freight
terminal 300 according to another embodiment of the system 200. The
color-by feature provided by the system 200 can also be applied to
containers 320. The containers in FIG. 6 are color-coded by move
status. For example, containers may be colored based on whether
they are Completed, On Hold, On Hustler, Ready, Selected or
Waiting. A container that is Completed is in its final location. A
container that is On Hustler is physically on the chassis of the
yard truck for delivery to another point in the freight terminal
300. Similarly, containers that are On Hold or Ready are either
inactive due to a hold or activated and able to be moved,
respectively. Waiting containers are those containers that have
scheduled moves but such moves are currently inactive and must be
activated before the moves can be executed.
[0034] FIG. 7 is an alternative color-by view of the same 3-D view
as that of FIG. 6 according to an embodiment of the system 200. In
this example, the system 200 generates a color-by view having
containers colored by assigned lifting equipment instead of colored
by move status illustrated in FIG. 6. In particular, the containers
that are to be moved by the top-pick TP27 705 are colored according
to the color legend 710.
[0035] From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although
specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein
for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made
without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended
claims.
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